Page 44 of Into Ember

And Erik.

Do I even know him? What do I actually know about this man? I thought I knew him. All the times we passed each other in the hallways and the coffee shop. Every time we nodded and smiled at one another in passing. I built a whole person out of that, and it turns out what I know is nothing. What I know now is that he’s a dragon from a different realm and he’s supposedly my—

I mean.

He does smell good. He smells exactly like this forest, actually, which is— I always wondered why it smelled like forest around him in the middle of a city.

Fucking forest.

And you know what Ashley would say? I know exactly what Ashley would say. She’d grab my face with both hands and go, “Girl. You just walked into a goddamn fairy tale.” And then she’d scream. She’d want details. Names. Heights. Measurements I don’t have. She’d be so excited for me she’d knock something over. She’d tell me she knew it about Erik. She knew, she’d say. It was never just a crush.

The smile dies with that thought.

Because I can’t tell her.

I don’t know how to get back. I don’t know if there is a back. I fell through a hole in the air and I didn’t even— I never—

Will I ever see her again?

The next intake of air is harder and the feeling at the back of my throat is growing. Because Ashley isn’t the only one back there.

My parents are.

They never even wanted me in Chicago. What is my mom going to think when the calls stop? What are they going to do when they don’t hear from me?

The woods go blurry, and a tear slips before I can stop it.

Gerald moves.

That’s nice.

More tears come and I can’t swipe them away fast enough.

Gerald’s leaves are shaking now — top to bottom, faster, and I’m on my feet without deciding to be. The shaking only goes faster and I swear he’s getting bigger and—

And something pops out.

“GERALD?!”

Chapter 17

Gunnar

I’m not following her. I’m outside. Those are two different things.

The rest of them can stay in there holding a meeting about what went wrong and whose fault it is — it’s Vick’s, by the way — and I’ll be out here, holding up a tree, not following the woman who bolted into a forest, just making sure she doesn’t accidentally burn it down.

Somebody had to.

Fine. I wanted to.

She found the prettiest clearing in walking distance, one I didn’t know was here, and that’s saying a lot. I’ve never seen the land change for anyone before. I heard stories, right along with the ones about female dragons. Two fairytales in one.

Huh.

She drops onto the rock in the center like she owns it and starts arguing with the trees.

“Mates,” she tells them. “That’s not a real thing.”